First Battle of the Plains
The First Battle of the Plains was an action of the Accordance War. Overview After Denver, Dafyll resumed his advance. Sidhe riding before and beside the main force neutralized many commoner freeholds, although they were in too big a hurry to put a concerted effort into their attacks. The Milehigh Campaign was a critical setback to any large-scale organization the commoner military possessed, for the main generals, key staff, and a serious chunk of soldiers and weapons had been captured. For the next couple of months, no leader could be said to command more than a city’s worth of Kithain at a time. The Shining Host continued to move across the landscape, assisting the local sidhe in “putting down the rebels.” Defense of the west fell to Calin Bloodforged, a troll recently retired from the U.S. Army. The most influential tactician west of the Mississippi, General Calin organized the free western forces he could muster, along with some eastern units. Warier of ruses than his predecessor, he took his cobbled-together army to the plains west of Kansas City. Nockers and trolls hastily threw up crude fortifications and arrayed their forces to meet the oncoming Royalists. While not the disaster of Denver, it was a costly defeat nonetheless. Besides having better mobility and tactics, the nobles possessed several great treasures thought lost with the Shattering: shields that shattered blades or war hammers, swords that mowed down opponents like scythes on barley; horns that struck unreasoning terror in the Host’s foes. The sidhe’s new surprise was a pack of semi-controlled war manticores that fell upon the commoner lines, stinging and rending. Two of these beasts were dispatched at great cost by a company of trolls, while the third returned to its handler. For two days, the battle raged across several miles of country as the commoners sallied forth and then retreated to their earthworks. Again, the sidhe attempted to encircle the commoners, but the beleaguered army managed to withdraw in good order. Calling upon bitter experiences in the Viet Nam’s Ia Drang Valley, Calin set a trap for the pursuing sidhe army, which he sprang the next day. The ambush, which caught the complacent nobles by surprise, nearly routed the lead element of the advancing army. Sadly, more loyalist commoners than sidhe fell at that skirmish, but the enemy advance was checked long enough to make good the commons’ escape. Aftermath For over a year, there were no battles to match Denver, but any veteran will tell you about the grim struggles at St. Louis, Lexington, and a handful of other cities. After two years without any major victories, commoner morale was in the pits, and not a few swore fealty to the sidhe. Several war leaders; first among them Generals Sevarik, Topaz, and Lyros, joined Calin in taking command of the disparate armies of the commoners. Lyros, a powerful troll noble before the Resurgence, was seen by many as the commander-in-chief of the commoner forces. These generals and the others who served later were well respected. They had to be, for they asked Kithain to leave their holds and homes to fight a seemingly invincible opponent. * First Battle of the Plains: October 4th-7th, 1971. * Battle of Hot Springs: February 27th, 1972. * Battle for the Arch: March 9-14, 1972 * The Bluegrass Campaign: April 10-June 1, 1972. References # CTD. Fool's Luck: The Way of the Commoner, pp. 36-37. Category:Changeling: The Dreaming Events